


and told you to find peace

by desastrista



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-21
Updated: 2016-06-21
Packaged: 2018-07-16 08:15:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7259581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/desastrista/pseuds/desastrista
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Season 1, Episode 9 coda: After the day is saved, Keith and Shiro talk privately.</p>
            </blockquote>





	and told you to find peace

**Author's Note:**

> help me i'm addicted to these space nerds in love and ao3 doesn't even recognize them as having a tag yet

Keith knew he was temperamental, wild, reckless. 

It was just that he felt less so when he was with Shiro. Shiro was a stabilizing force; he was the calm to Keith’s tempest. 

Except now, he did not look calm at all. He was standing in the middle of his room, his face ashen and his shoulders drawn tight with tension. Of course, everyone in the Castle was spooked right now. Their ship had been hijacked. It had actively tried to kill them. They had escaped from an exploding supernova with mere seconds to spare. Of course people would be on edge. But Keith knew as he looked at Shiro that this was different. This was not fear. It was something – personal. Something that had cut him deep. When the dust had cleared and the ship saved, Shiro had retreated almost immediately to his room. No doubt he wanted to hide this image of himself from the rest of the team. If Keith had not followed him, he might never have seen it. 

“Are you alright?” Keith asked. He had been standing in the doorway, hesitant, but seeing the shadows in Shiro’s eyes his feet rushed to close the distance between them. 

“I’m fine,” Shiro said. His voice was weaker than it would have been if he were telling the truth. 

Keith laid his hands hesitantly on Shiro’s chest. “You don’t look fine,” he muttered, half to himself. Louder, he said, “It’s over, Allura healed the ship. Whatever you saw, whatever you heard – it’s all over.” 

“I know,” Shiro said, and he leaned down to kiss Keith. It was a slow kiss, with Shiro letting his lips linger on Keith’s. It would have been nice, but when it ended and there was still that weight on Shiro’s brow, Keith knew he was being brushed off. 

His eyebrows pursed together. How was he supposed to help Shiro if Shiro said everything was fine? He let out a huff of annoyance, and Shiro just laughed. It sounded more like regret than amusement. 

“You don’t believe me,” he said. 

“I don’t believe you.” 

“It’s –,” Shiro let out a long sigh. He took a step away from Keith and sat down on the bed. Normally he had impeccable posture, but now his shoulders stooped as he hunched in on himself. Keith sat down beside him. He did not look away from Shiro. Shiro did not meet his gaze. “I know the threat is over,” Shiro said. “The castle is safe. We can continue on our quest to defeat Zarkon and save the galaxy.” He did not say anything for a moment. 

“But?” Keith pressed. Shiro was always telling him that he needed to be more patient. It was not advice Keith found easy to follow. And even now, he could see how the corner of Shiro’s mouth lifted, but then Keith blinked and it was gone. 

“But,” Shiro added. “But – even though I know that, I can’t – I can’t stop think of what Sendak said to me.” 

“What did he say?” Keith pressed again. This time Shiro did not answer. Keith didn’t miss how his eyes darted to his arm, though. His metal arm. Keith drew in a sharp breath. 

“He said I had been broken and reformed,” Shiro finally said. And then he added, after a moment, “He said a monster like me could never be a Voltron paladin.” 

Shiro’s words were a shock of electricity that went up and down his spine and to every nerve in his body. He jerked up. His whole body tensed as if expecting a fight, as if Sendak were here in the room and not floating through the vastness of space. “That’s ridiculous!” he said, louder than intended, and the words tumbled out as quickly as he thought of them, “That’s not true – you’re the leader of the team, you’re the head of Voltron – the whole team needs you – I need you.” 

He hadn’t quite intended to say those last words out loud. He stopped himself, suddenly self-conscious. His face felt very warm. Shiro was just looking at him with a half-smile on his lips. But it vanished when Shiro looked back at his arm. 

“I don’t remember most of what happened to me since I was captured,” he said in a pensive tone. “And this arm – it’s part of me, and it’s Galra tech.” There was the sound of metal moving against metal. Shiro had balled his hand into a fist. “More than that. It’s a weapon. It’s not – natural, the things it can do.” 

He held his hand out in front of him. Keith saw the familiar purple glow as the metal turned to energy. He could feel the heat of it against his face. He frowned. 

“But it’s saved your life,” he felt compelled to point out, “You fought Sendak with it.” 

“Doesn’t change that it’s Galra tech.” 

Keith leaned against Shiro’s shoulder. There was still that solid, familiar weight to it. He reached out one arm slowly. The display was over: Shiro’s hand had gone back to normal. Keith reached out and held it in his own. The metal wasn’t hot, but it wasn’t cold either. Instead, it just felt warm. Almost alive. Despite himself, Keith smiled. The texture would never be mistaken for skin, of course, but it still felt more like Shiro than anything else. Particularly when Shiro moved his hand to intertwine his fingers with Keith’s. 

“No,” Keith said. “It’s a part of you. It’s your arm now. The Galra don’t own it, not anymore. And they don’t own you.” 

Shiro did not respond at first. Keith looked up, though, and could see how Shiro had started to smile. He lifted his hand and kissed Keith’s hand. “Thank you,” he said, his lips grazing the back of Keith’s knuckles. “After today, I needed to hear that.” 

Keith leaned harder against Shiro’s shoulder. Shiro just wrapped his other arm around Keith’s waist and angled his shoulder to draw him in closer.

Keith knew he was hot-headed, impetuous, impatient. 

But he felt less so when he was around Shiro. It was a nice feeling. Neither of them spoke. The quiet was peaceful. That was how Keith felt when he was with Shiro – peaceful. And he would do anything to help Shiro feel the same.


End file.
